Ace Of Spades
by Silverstar Wizard
Summary: Jareth needs help with an interesting problem...I berate myself for not having the creativity to come up with a new relationship *berate, berate* BUT! Despair not! I can promise you an interesting twist or two.
1. A New Beginning

Ace Of Spades

By Silverstar Wizard

One

The school bell rang, signaling the end to a very bad day. Sarah grabbed her book bag and threw herself against the door. She almost ran down the hall in her haste to be out of that class. Anna, who had the next locker and was a good friend of hers, caught up with her as she was collecting her books for homework.

"Rough day?" she asked.

"As you would never believe. You know my History teacher, Mr. Medlass?"

"The one who used to teach at West Point?"

"Yeah. Supposedly, though I believe every word of it. Well, first we were assigned an in class research activity. We're studying the Middle Ages, and we had to write a report on a mythical creature."

"Oh no. I can guess where this is going." Anna was the only person whom Sarah had told about her adventure in the Labyrinth. She wanted desperately to meet Jareth ("Sounds pretty fine, if you ask me. Look, I'm not implying anything, but if you don't want him, I do."), and Sarah had promised that if it were ever possible to ask him, she would try to arrange a meeting. Anna had also tried, briefly, to arrange a Goblin Support Group, which would petition the government to grant goblins and other oppressed and underrepresented races unquestioned asylum. Sarah had managed to convince her that that wouldn't work (and that she didn't want a bunch of goblins running around anyway), but she was still the Underground's biggest undiscovered fan.

"Right. So the Captain goes round the room, assigning creatures. Of course, I'm the last one. All the pretty cheerleaders sit up front and they take "Unicorn," "Fairy," "Elf," "Mermaid." Then all the boys, and away go "Minotaur," "Chimera," "Roc," "Dragon," "Basilisk." All around the room, until it gets to me, and all there is left is "Goblin." Why me? Why that one mythical creature out of all mythical creatures? I wanted to cry right then and there. I tried to trade, but Mr. Medlass heard me and said that I was trying to get something easier. Then he told me that I must be much more stupid than he had previously thought, because goblins were the stupidest creatures he had assigned. So he told me that not only must I hand in a full report, annotated and illustrated, on goblins, I must also research the Goblin King."

"And that's why you're upset?"

"Anna, I know I used to tell you that I hated him, that he treated me badly and tried to use me for god-knows-what. I know he stole my brother. But he was right: I asked him to take Toby. And now…well, I miss him. History class just reminded me…but wait, I haven't told you the worst part."

"It gets worse?"

"Oh yeah. Then, he handed out books to use for research. They were these big leather books, manuscripts. I can't imagine where he found them."

"Probably some occult bookstore."

Sarah laughed. She was starting to feel a bit better. "Mm-hmm. And I thought I might as well research Jareth and get it out of the way. I turned to the page and my whole story was there! Everything was there, even Ludo and Hoggle…the Escher Room. There was even a picture of us dancing in the crystal. Then some jerk I thankfully don't know saw the page, and told the teacher I was reading fairy stories instead of researching. I told him that a) I wasn't researching fairies so there was no need for me to be reading their stories, and b) if that was a fairy story, I was a frog. Of course, I couldn't tell him that that was me in the story, so I don't think he quite got the point that there are definitely more pleasant places to be than in the Bog of Eternal Stench. But everyone came over to see what was going on, and they all laughed because I had such an (and I quote) "ugly, skinny guy with bad clothes and 80's hair" to research."

Anna was trying to decide whether to feel sorry for Sarah or laugh at how little everyone else knew about the situation. 

"He _does_ have 80's hair, you know," she said gently.

"I know that, but that's no reason to make fun of it!"

"That's true."

"And they of all people shouldn't be calling other people skinny. They're all anorexic anyway."

Sarah laughed again. Anna always made her feel better. But she still couldn't shake the feeling that someone had insulted herself very deeply, which was strange since it was Jareth they had made fun of, not her. She wondered whether it might be Jareth himself making her feel like that, trying to make her realize that she missed him, or make her feel guilty that she had never called him. She knew Jareth was capable of putting words into people's mouths whenever he felt like it. But that didn't explain why she hurt so much.

Two

At home that night, Sarah was distracted and somewhat depressed. She was supposed to be working on her report, but didn't feel that she could bear to look at the picture of her and Jareth dancing again. It was too painful.

She sighed. She had all her other homework done, her report wasn't due for a week, and she needed some serious relaxation. She decided to run a bath.

"And if I don't deserve this now, may I never take another bubble bath again," she thought, somewhat bitterly.

When the bathtub was finally full, there was a heap of bubbles a foot high about to spill over the top. "So I got a little carried away," thought Sarah as she threw her clothes into a corner and got in. "But I'd sure like to shake the hand of the person who came up with the idea of bubble baths. They must have had a stressful life."

Sarah put her long dark hair up into a bun so that it wouldn't get wet, and leaned back against the wall of the tub.

As she stretched out her legs and started to doze off in the warm water, Sarah thought she could hear a soft voice singing somewhere in the back of her mind.

As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you,

All the thrill is gone, wasn't too much fun at all…

Sarah murmured in her sleep, and a small smile played across her lips. In her dream, she was in the crystal sphere again. Jareth was holding her close as her sang to her, and she rested her head against his shoulder. They moved gracefully through the crowd of dancing couples, the only two without masks.

…But I'll be there for you

As the world falls down…

Jareth pulled away to look at her face. He wasn't smiling. In fact Sarah couldn't think of a time when he had smiled, unless he was doing something horrible to someone. Or when he was coming up with some new way to put someone through hell. Like when she had first started through the Labyrinth. He had smiled then. Such a pity.

But now, when they were dancing, Sarah could see that the smile was all in his eyes. He wasn't unhappy; he just didn't show emotion on the surface. You had to look at him, and see the way his eyes never left hers, as though there was a thread connecting them, to know that he felt something for her.

Falling in love…

Almost as though he could hear her thoughts, Jareth pulled her to him for a kiss. It was relatively innocent: he only brushed his lips lightly against her forehead for an all-too-brief second and then pulled away again. But Sarah could tell from the way he held her hand tighter and pulled her waist a little closer to him, that it meant more than what it was.

Sarah looked up in surprise. His eyes looked softer than they usually did, mellow even. In those few moments, Sarah experienced a new feeling, that of complete contentment. She felt like she fit within Jareth's arms as though they had been molded just to hold her.

Jareth lowered his head to whisper softly in her ear, "Sarah, there is no time in the Labyrinth. Stay here for a day, and you stay for as long as you wish. I can give you everything, if you stay for me."

As he breathed the shadow of a kiss in her ear and made his way to the corner of her mouth, Sarah considered the consequences of accepting. Did he entertain young girls in this manner often? Even if he was only acting, he did a very convincing job.

"Of course…he's had an eternity to practice," she thought with a tinge of what might have been jealousy. But it didn't matter to her then, or even afterward when she thought about it. The timeless Labyrinth and its ageless King performed miracles in her mind, spinning feather dreams and webs of golden hope. They encircled Jareth's halo of golden hair and streamed from his eyes and pale face…Sarah could only hope that they were real in some time and place.

But suddenly, the music stopped and the crystal shattered. Sarah saw her friends Ludo, Hoggle and Sir Didymus running through the falling crowd.

"Don't worry, milady!" cried Sir Didymus. "We'll save you!"

"No!" shouted Sarah, flinging herself around for one last look at Jareth before she fell into the blackness outside the dream. "Stop! Jareth! Come back!" She stretched out a hand; hoping that he would make some movement to catch her, hold her near him. 

Outwardly, Jareth betrayed no emotion, but there was such a look of pain and despair in his eyes that Sarah could hardly bear to look at him. She'd lost him again.

"It's too late, Sarah…too late…"

"No! Sarah screamed, jerking awake in the bathtub. She'd fallen asleep. Had she hurt Jareth that much in the Labyrinth? Had she been so caught up in her quest that she didn't take the time to look at his face? Or was his love for her just another effect of the dream crystal? _Was_ it love she had seen in his eyes? There was no way to find out now.

Sarah looked at her watch. 

"I don't believe it, it's after twelve! I'd better go to bed." She got out of the tub, wrapped a towel around herself, and walked out to get her nightshirt.

Sarah shrieked. There was a goblin on her bed, noisily shuffling through her blankets and various stuffed animals.

"Hello, Sarah," said a warm British voice behind her. She spun around. Remembering her dream, her face turned bright red and she felt her ears get hot.

"Jareth," she said as coolly as could be managed. He smiled and inclined his head slightly to acknowledge that that was in fact his name. "I didn't expect to see you…aboveground."

Jareth smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Sarah, would you assume that you were the first girl ever to wish away a young one? Surely you have more humility than that."

"You take…other children?" Jareth laughed.

"Still not taking the time to think things through, I see. Sarah." The Goblin King lowered his head and walked towards her, pulling out a crystal as he did so.

"Take this," he said, placing the shimmering crystal in her hand. She took it, and was immediately fully clothed, in her own white shirt and jeans. 

"You are needed immediately. Take my hand, and I will explain forthwith." Jareth extended a hand towards her, and when she didn't take it immediately, he seized her hand tightly in his and the two disappeared immediately, leaving a faint scattering of silver dust where they had been only seconds before.


	2. What the Hell is Going On?

Title: Ace of Spades, Part Two (Chapters 3 and 4)

Author: Silverstar Wizard

Disclaimer: I still don't own Labyrinth, and that includes both Jareth and Sarah. I don't own the other guy who comes in. I don't want to ruin the surprise if you're reading this first.

Note: If my transitions seem messy, the mystery person was originally someone else. I was too lazy to change the dialogue. Enjoy! Oh, please REVIEW!

Three

Sarah and Jareth reappeared in a place Sarah had never seen. She stared around her in wonder. She was in the middle of a dirt road, with horses and dirty men and women walking past her. She saw a group of men in long robes talking to one another quietly, while a woman sat on a nearby rock and watched closely. Some chickens squawked by noisily as a knight wearing a long blue robe and carrying a lance came up to them. It was all entirely foreign to Sarah. 

"Where are we?" she asked incredulously.

"I said that other girls have been known to wish away young brothers. So where do you think we are?"

Sarah knew that it wasn't anywhere in the world that she knew. But it didn't resemble the 

Underground, the only other world she knew of, and anyway, it seemed sort of pointless for inhabitants of the Underground to be wishing their siblings away to their own world.

"It looks like someplace from an older world."

Jareth sighed and massaged his temples with one gloved hand. "What do they teach children in school these days?"

"What? I don't understand."

Jareth's voice came from behind her, with a tone of deepest disgust. "If your teachers were doing their job properly, you would have studied romantic English literature. We, my dear Sarah, have arrived in the world of King Arthur. Or, as you probably know it, Camelot and it's surrounding area."

"But…that's only a story!" Sarah's eyes were wide as she started to recognize elements of one of her favorite books.

Jareth's voice was now bordering on rage. "The Labyrinth was only a story! Or so you thought. Do I feel like a story to you?" He walked towards her, and for a moment Sarah thought he was going to slap her. Indeed, he raised his hand and brought it towards her as if about to hit her. But at the last moment, his hand slowed and instead he slowly stroked her cheek, laughing quietly. All the anger was gone from his voice. He knew his move had confused her. 

"Sarah," he continued, hand lifting her chin up so she had to look him in the eye, "all the other worlds are real. Giving them voice gives them life. So as long as people continue to read and talk about this world," he gestured around him, "it will continue to exist – timeless, just like the Labyrinth. This place is very real. Just as real, in fact, as your world."

"I still don't understand."

Jareth thought for a moment how best to explain this. "All the worlds, all the time," he finally said, "exist at the same time. On top of one another, piled up. Every time the world changes dramatically, a new world is created, and the old world continues. But since it no longer exists in time present, if it is ever forgotten about it ceases to exist. And if certain elements of it are forgotten, they disappear."

"But…what happens if someone makes something up? Like if I thought up a dinosaur that had eight legs and a big hairy body?"

"It happened in the past, then. All the past has already happened, and your dinosaur has evolved into what we know as spiders."

Sarah's mind boggled a little. "But I thought you said the worlds co-existed."

"They do, but time still runs in a more or less straight line through them. Think of it this way: there is still a present, past, and future, but they are all happening at the same time."

Sarah was still confused. "I don't get it…"

By this time, however, the knight had reached them and rode quickly to block their path in the road. He reined his horse in and looked down at them sternly.

"There is no market today. What do you want in our town?"

In the instant that Sarah had looked away, Jareth had changed from his normal attire into something that seemed to fit their surroundings more. He now wore knee-high boots, black tights, a royal blue tunic with silver embroidery, and a long blue cloak with a hood. Sarah was still wearing her shirt and jeans, and realized that she must be attracting attention.

"We are not merchants, and we do not come to buy from yours. We require news of Arthur."

The man's face darkened noticeably. "What do you know of him?"

Jareth moved to take the horse's head in his hands. The horse rolled its eyes and didn't appear to enjoy Jareth's presence, but soon settled down and only shuffled its feet every now and again. Jareth looked up as soon as the horse was quiet.

"Only that something has happened to him. I may know how to return him here. But," he looked back down at the horse, "only if you will consent to help."

The horse shuddered violently and turned into a hippogriff, part eagle and part horse. Sarah jumped and grabbed onto Jareth's arm reflexively, dropping it immediately when she realized what she was doing. She took a step back, however: the thing looked dangerous. The knight screamed and threw himself from the bucking animal, falling to the ground at Jareth's feet. Jareth produced a crystal, threw it, and the hippogriff vanished in a whirl of white light and shimmer.

"There is no need for dramatics," he told the knight, who was still on the ground. "Get up, and tell your King we wish to see him. Or your Queen, if your King is not to be found." The knight ran off in a clatter of armor. Jareth emitted a faint disgusted sigh and gestured, sending the horse running after its master.

"That was amazing!" Sarah exclaimed. "I've never seen one of those…things before!"

"I assumed you hadn't. Do you want me to tell you why you are here?" He didn't wait for an answer, but continued before Sarah had had a chance to speak. "As you know, Arthur and Gwenhwyfar were married for a long time, without producing an heir to the British throne. However, unknown to Western historians, a priestess was able to make Gwen conceive late in life. They had a son, called…."

"Oh! James, I hope!"

"James, of course. Gwen, however, soon found that having a small child around the house turned Arthur into a sort of fatherly type. He completely lost his edge. Her temper finally gave, and she wished him away."

"She what!"

"Wished him away to the Labyrinth. I told you that you weren't the first to wish someone away. I think she was the first to wish away a husband."

"But you told me someone had wished their little brother away."

"I didn't feel it was necessary to confuse you to such an extent as telling you that Arthur had been wished away would surely have done." Sarah turned a bewildered pair of eyes up to him. "Oh dear, I have confused you, haven't I? Well, let's see if

f this can't clear it all up…."

Four

"Wait a second, we're back in the Labyrinth! Take me back home right now! A Mystery Trip was not what I had in mind for my evening!" Sarah fought wildly against the surprisingly strong grip that had kept her from get楴杮氠獯

ting lost as Jareth had brought them to the Underground.

"So wild!" exclaimed Jareth mockingly as he released Sarah, who immediately threw herself into a far corner, rubbing her shoulder where he had held her. "Hush now, I think we have a visitor…."

"I will find the end of this…this hell! To think that…damn you, Gwen!" A male voice with an even more pronounced British accent than Jareth's made its way to them across the tops of the hedges. Sarah's eyes were wide with wonder. Just then, the source of the voice emerged from around a corner.

He leapt back in surprise. Then, apparently recalling his manners, made a formal bow in Sarah's direction. He directed his attention to Jareth.

"Your majesty." He bowed again, and Jareth returned the courtesy. "We," he gestured almost unnoticeably towards Sarah, "have not been introduced." He retreated a step and set his mouth in a grim line. However, Sarah could see that Jareth had been right when he said that marriage and fatherhood had changed Arthur. He had laughter lines around his eyes and his entire being seemed more relaxed than Sarah had even imagined as she read the old Arthurian myths.

"Oh yes…of course. Sarah, may I present a recent acquaintance of mine, Arthur Pendragon, more recently of Camelot. Your majesty, this is Sarah. I believe I shall leave you two to get to know one another."

Sarah had never before had the opportunity to hear Jareth exercising his formal vocabulary and mannerisms, and wasn't sure whether she liked the change or not. It was certainly a departure from the goblin-kicking King she had known previously.

"His Majesty maintains an excellent property here. I find it difficult to find my way in it, but until now I have been simply roaming. Married life," he choked a little on those words, "has kept me inside more than I have liked, as of late. I forget how much I enjoy a garden." He clasped his hands behind his back and, lowering his head, walked on. "I apologize if I am something lacking in affability. I find that being without…." He choked again. "Forgive me. Perhaps we should talk of something else. How did you come to meet Jareth?"

Sarah wasn't sure how to answer that, because, if her experience had been any example, 

Gwenhwyfar should have been wandering about in the Labyrinth, and Arthur should have been at the castle. But it seemed strange somehow that Jareth would turn someone as imposing as King Arthur into a goblin, and Sarah somehow felt that Gwen didn't want her husband back right away.

"Jareth and I…we met about a year ago. I wished my little brother away. I didn't mean to. I had a book about the Labyrinth, and I "wished" my brother away. When he actually was taken, Jareth challenged me to solve the Labyrinth if I wanted him back. I ended up in the same position you're in now."

"Has it changed, do you find?"

"What? The Labyrinth? No, not really. Some of this looks awfully familiar. Although I can't say for sure. It was changing even when I solved it the last time."

Arthur suddenly whirled on her and grabbed both of her hands. "Miss Sarah, I entreat you to please help me. Help me solve this maze and I will give you anything! Everything! But…."

"But what?" asked Sarah gently.

"Only," he dropped her hands, "if my Gwen will have me back. If she won't, I will return here. Jareth will – must – find a living for me here."

Sarah thought about all the things she had been through on the way to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City, and what they might have been like had she been forced to go through them alone. She would never have gotten out of the oubliette, or away from the fireys without Hoggle's help. Even Ludo and Sir Didymus had been helpful, and companions are always welcome when one is traveling. 

But she couldn't help this man. She hardly knew him, but she was already awed by his sheer presence. Part of it, she knew, had to do with his being a fictional character. Well, he had been, as far as she was concerned, until about an hour ago. But another part was fascinated by the mystical aura, which seemed to hang around him. Sarah suspected it had something to do with living in such close proximity to Avalon and the sacred places of ancient Britain. He was simply from a different world, and there was no way she could even identify with him enough to be of any use to him in this place.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I must beg you to release me from any obligation. I simply don't know the Labyrinth well enough. If I got you lost, I could never forgive myself. I'll call Jareth, and he can send you in the right direction before he brings me home."

Arthur's face fell, but he seemed reconciled to the idea of getting through the Labyrinth alone. He looked up resolutely, and called Jareth.

Jareth walked slowly from behind a corner, dressed once again in his usual shirt, tights, vest and boots. Sarah was somehow glad to have the familiar Jareth back again. She walked up to him to ask him to take her home when he put out a hand in front of her. "Stop," he said. "I must have a word with you." He threw a crystal straight up, and when it came down, it engulfed them in a sphere of bright light.


	3. Nowhere

Okay…the usual disclaimer applies. PLEASE if you read this: spread the word! I'm addicted to feedback and seeing only 6 reviews after my stories have been up for weeks kind of upsets me. L Anyway. Enjoy part Five!

Five

Blinded momentarily, Sarah stepped away to clear her head. Jareth, she saw as soon as her vision was working again, seemed to be leaning quite confidently against nothing at all. They appeared to be in the Labyrinth, but she wasn't sure where exactly. As far as she could see, the only landscape was flat red-gold sand on the ground. Far away, a decrepit obelisk thrust itself against the orange sky. But that was the only thing besides Jareth and herself to break the dull flatness.

"Where are we now?" she asked with a hint of weariness in her voice. 

"Where are we? Where? We," he made a grand, sweeping gesture towards the sands and the obelisk, "are in the Labyrinth."

"Are you kidding? This is the Labyrinth?"

"Oh, but of course. Look around you Sarah." She looked. "Where do you go from here? Where did you come from? What direction will you go in?" Sarah looked around with a bewildered expression on her face. "There is nothing to tell you where you are. You are nowhere." He leaned back again and watched her out of half closed eyes as she wandered around a bit, never going very far. Eventually she returned and flopped down on the ground.

"All this jumping around is starting to wear me out. From now on, I would appreciate it if you would give me some warning before you bring me places."

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you," Jareth lilted as he left his spot against the air. 

"I fully intend never to invite you anywhere ever again."

"Invite? When did you invite me anywhere?"

"Why, Sarah! Have you forgotten already? I took you from your bedroom to Camelot, and then directly to my Labyrinth."

"That's not an invitation! That's…kidnapping!"

"But you are no child, Sarah. I extended an invitation to you, as a matter of fact. I asked, but you didn't hear. You wanted to come back." He was standing less than six inches away, and was looking down at her in a suspiciously friendly manner. Well, maybe not friendly. More relaxed, certainly.

"No I didn't! What are you talking about?"

Jareth smirked and cocked his head to one side, waiting for her to say something else.

Sarah stamped her foot in frustration. "Okay, okay! So I told Anna I missed you! So fucking what?" She wrinkled her nose petulantly. "As far as I'm concerned, you're still…."

"Still what?" queried Jareth laughingly.

"An…an ugly, skinny, guy with bad clothes and 80's hair!" she burst out. Immediately, her hands flew to her mouth and her wide eyes started to tear up.

"I'm…I'm really sorry, Jareth," she choked through her embarrassment, as she saw him begin to grow distant again. "I didn't mean it!" But it was too late. His eyes, which had looked at her somewhat warmly only a few minutes ago, were now as hard as stone and cold as ice.

"Sarah," he said in his customary monotone, "you will help Arthur if you like it or not." 

He spun on his heel and was gone. Sarah found herself back in the other part of the Labyrinth, with Arthur nearby looking rather lost. 

She sighed. "Well, come on then," she said, and tugged a confused Arthur's robe, starting off in what she could only hope was the right direction.

***

Jareth strode out of thin air and into the throne room of the castle. Sarah's behavior did not please him at all. She was by turns naïve, stupid, rude, and downright annoying. Why had he ever been possessed to do anything for her? Turn the world upside down? What had been the matter with him? Now, given the choice, he would not so much as kick a goblin at her bidding. "In fact," he told himself, "I would renounce all goblin-kicking forever if she ever were to betray an interest in it." Satisfied with his display of ill-tempered self-denial, he smirked inwardly and booted a goblin across the room, enjoying the nervous laughter from the rest of his subjects.

Jareth stood, hands clasped behind his back, at the window, half leaning against it. A small fuzzy goblin approached him and started nibbling nervously on the hem of his tights. It was a while before Jareth noticed that his garments were being eaten, but then he slowly turned his head to look at the goblin. He smiled benignly at the creature.

"And you, my small friend. I have an important task for you." The goblin's eyes grew wide, far wider than its small head could possibly accommodate. It perked up its ears, eager to hear what the mission could be. 

"Yes," continued Jareth. "I want you to carry a very important message for me. Tell whoever you encounter that I am very much displeased."

And with that he threw the goblin as far out of the window as he could, watching as it collided with the top braches of a large tree, then plummeted painfully to the ground with a barely audible "thump."

Jareth covered his face with his hands in despair as the throne room erupted in laughter. 


	4. A Fine Natural Imbalance

Title: Ace of Spades, Part Four, Chapter Six

Author: Silverstar Wizard

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth. I don't own Jareth or Sarah or King Arthur. Good lords, I can barely manage to hold onto the stuff I have. Why would I want to accept responsibility for someone else's?

Dedication: This one's for the two people who helped me write this, namely Faith Harris and the Cat (Prettydreamer77), the one for actually dispensing advice, and the other for having no idea what was going on until very, very recently. Love and peaches to you both!

Six

Hours later, Sarah reached down to help Arthur over the top of a wall. They had just barely escaped the fireys, and as he straightened up on the top of the wall, Arthur subconsciously put a hand to his neck, as if to make sure his head was still there. He looked around at the view, which was rather expansive, due mainly to the fact that they were at the top of a wall, but also because the Labyrinth flowed down into a valley before rising again to the castle. All around them, he saw only sandy colored walls, green hedges, and orange and pale blue sky. Some thin silver clouds scudded across the sky, but apart from that, there was no movement anywhere. It looked quite serene and picturesque, but Arthur was coming to realize, as Sarah had six months ago, that nothing was what it seemed in the Underground.

"I find it hard to believe that a place such as this really exists. It grows steadily more dangerous. May I ask where exactly we are bound?"

Sarah pointed at the castle. "That's the castle at the center of the Labyrinth. We're headed there. But first," she looked around, trying to find a trap door in the wall, "we must get through the Bog of Eternal Stench." She turned and kept looking, getting down on her knees to search.

"What?" asked Arthur incredulously. "The Bog of what?"

"Of Eternal Stench. It smells. Bad. And the worst part is, if you step in it, you smell like Bog for the rest of your life." In the back of her mind, Sarah could hear Hoggle saying those very words. She stopped talking abruptly and kept looking in silence.

After several minutes, she got tired of looking and stood up with her hands on her hips. 

"All right, you Goblin King! I need to get into the Bog! Let's have a clue here!"

Nothing happened. A bird flew overhead and landed in a nearby tree. Sarah glared at it. She was hot, tired, dirty, thirsty, itchy, and really didn't feel like looking at any small innocent creatures. Of course, the bird didn't know that, and started to sing quite cheerily. Sarah was irritated, but since she couldn't take her anger out on Jareth, its real target, and since she didn't have anything against Arthur, she picked up a rock and hurled it weakly at the bird, missing it by several feet, but effectively silencing it and scaring it off. Arthur followed its flight, and turned to her. 

"There was no reason for that. I was taught to show kindness to all the earth's creatures," he said.

"Oh shut up," Sarah snapped, and kicked the wall. "It's not fair!"

Jareth slowly appeared right behind Arthur, who started noticeably. Pushing the man firmly aside, he stalked over to where Sarah was standing, relieved that she had been able to summon him at last, but trying to appear confident and disdainful.

"A clue?" he asked incredulously. "You want a clue?"

"Yes please," Sarah spat. "That is, if it's all the same to you. Your majesty." Inwardly, she was shocked at her words. Why was she treating him like this? She could see herself slipping into her old prejudices. She thought about what she had said to Anna, about how she had missed Jareth, desperately trying to recall some of those feelings. What on earth had happened to them?

It struck Sarah that that had been only yesterday. It felt like years had passed since she had felt anything but annoyance towards the Goblin King. Let's see, she thought. It had been six months since she had defeated Jareth and left the Labyrinth behind forever. Or, so she had thought at the time. Now, part of her hated the Goblin King with a passion, but another, very small part of her had other ideas. It was the same inner voice that knew he had been generous all along, without having to be told, the part that heard the pleading and desperation in his final words.

Stop. Wait. Look what I'm offering.

Shaken by an internal battle, Sarah sat down heavily on the low stone wall and propped her chin on her hand. 

I ask for so little. Just let me rule you.

"I can't," she told the echoes in her mind. Somewhere far off, she heard herself say, "Don't you understand that I can't?" Shaking off the memories of the past, Sarah confronted herself again. 

"Can't you see that you've always let him rule you?" said the small voice from her heart, mentally shaking its head.

"I…I don't understand," Sarah replied to herself. "What do you mean? He lost! I said the words. Didn't I?"

"You won the game, Sarah, but he won the bigger game. From the first time you picked up the little red book, the Labyrinth and its King were in control of your mind. You gave your life to a fantasy world, a better world. It was always for the best, but at the same time, Jareth has always ruled you. And you have enjoyed it."

Sarah paid attention to what her inner self was telling her. Chewing her nails in agitation, she stole a glance at Jareth every few minutes, to see whether he was somehow privy to what was transpiring in her head. But he seemed disinterested in what she was up to, and leant casually against a vine-covered wall, arms crossed and eyebrows raised, trying, it appeared, to intimidate Arthur into giving up. The latter, however, showed no signs of submitting, having, no doubt, dealt with many things worse than Jareth in his own kingdom, and simply sat on the wall watching the changing sky.

"You must stop treating him as the enemy," Sarah's mind went on. You are no longer antagonists – try to see him as a friend. Jareth is part of your life, as you became part of his."

"Wait!" Sarah held out a mental hand to stop herself. "In what way am I a part of his life? He kicks goblins, lounges around in tights, and takes babies, and I go to school and get made fun of. How do I fit into the goblins-tights-babies thing?"

"Sarah, I want you to look at him quickly, when he doesn't expect it, and look closely at his eyes. You'll see what I mean." And then Sarah was alone in her mind again. Hesitantly, she straightened, and was suddenly aware of someone looking at her. Without turning, she decided to take her own advice, on faith if nothing else.

Jareth, who at that moment had finally given up trying to frighten Arthur, suddenly noticed that Sarah had moved from her thinking position. Slowly levering himself from the wall, he ventured to look in her direction. He saw her hang her head momentarily, then shake back her hair and stare up at the sky. She looked nervous about something, although he was unable to say what, exactly.

"So," he asked, "just what sort of clue were you expecting me to give you? A large, shining arrow to light your way, perhaps?" He was openly mocking her.

Sarah was startled at his manner and turned away again. He followed, and stood behind her. Reaching out, he pulled her towards him by the shoulders and rested his clasped hands on the top of her head.

"Perhaps," he continued, leaning down to speak into her ear, "you might like one of these…." He freed a hand and conjured a crystal, reaching around her body to present it to her. "Do you want it?"

Sarah had felt him step up behind her, and was aware of his arm encircling her. At that one moment, she felt protected in Jareth's strange embrace. Impulsively, and hardly realizing what she was doing, she spun herself around in his arms.

Finding herself with her nose in Jareth's neck wasn't exactly part of Sarah's plan. But she made the most of the logistical error by quickly looking up to find Jareth's eyes fixed on hers.

He laughed quietly and tilted his head forward, so that his forehead was resting on hers. "Well, Sarah," he said, smiling benevolently, "I was wondering when you'd realize…." He leaned down to kiss her and closed his eyes.

Indignant, Sarah took a hasty step back and slapped him hard across one cheek. 

He flew back about five feet and opened his eyes in shock.

"What was that?!" he gasped.

"That was for…for…whatever that was! Wait a minute! Why am I explaining things to you? What the hell was that? What were you thinking about?" She kicked at him, not really trying to hit him, but he retreated another step all the same.

"What was I thinking about?" Jareth was regaining a bit of his usual composure. "I thought that that should be obvious." He turned away and gestured behind him. A curtain of ivy swung away from a section of wall to reveal a low-set trap door.

"That door will lead to the Bog of Eternal Stench," he said, clasping his hands behind his back. Sarah immediately grabbed Arthur by the sleeve and slid feet first through the door, giving Jareth one more glare before she disappeared down the chute.

As soon as the two were gone, Jareth slumped against the nearest wall.

"Well," he said, to no one in particular, rubbing his cheek pensively. "That was unexpected." His normally pale face was beginning to show the traces of a faint bruise along one cheekbone.

"Oh really?" asked a small voice in his head. "You knew she would do that. You arrogant bastard." 

"I cannot believe my own subconscious thinks I'm an arrogant bastard!" Jareth thought furiously. He spun around and stomped peevishly around a corner and back into his castle.


	5. The Ace

Title: Ace of Spades, Part Five  
Author: Silverstar Wizard  
Disclaimer: The usual…blah, blah, blah. I don't own Labyrinth. Labyrinth belongs to Jim Henson, so does basically everything else in this story. The canoe is a registered trademark of Cheese, Inc. (Just checking…)  
Author's Note: Towards the end, Jareth does some explaining on my behalf. A certain someone is beginning to annoy me…  
  
Seven  
  
Later that evening, Jareth sat in his throne room, watching as some of the goblins roasted a chicken over a large fire in the pit in the center of the room. It had taken them quite a long time to figure out that the fire was actually necessary. That is, if they wanted the chicken to cook. For about three hours, they had sat around the pit, watching the spitted bird, and waiting for it to cook. None of them had noticed that nothing was actually happening. But every one of them had had such a look of euphoric anticipation on its face, that eventually Jareth had given in and lit the fire for them, as a friendly gesture.   
He wished now that he hadn't. As the chicken came closer and closer to being done, the goblins had begun to fight noisily over who got to eat which bits of it. They scrambled around the throne room, bumping into one another and beating each other with their spears. Every so often, one of them would get hit hard enough to send it skidding across the floor and into the wall, in which case it would sit down for a second, shake its head to clear it, and throw itself back into the fight. Interestingly enough, there seemed to be a widespread belief among them that the feet were the tastiest bits, a belief that Jareth didn't feel he could be bothered to correct.  
A few more minutes elapsed, and the goblins closest to the fire decided that they had waited long enough. With a mad pounding of feet, all the goblins present stampeded towards the fire pit. The only thing Jareth was able to see, before the crowd of goblins became to thick for him to see through, was the chicken flying through the air and subsequently being ripped into very small pieces.  
Although the goblins' eating habits repulsed him, the thought and smell of roasted chicken reminded Jareth of how hungry he was. Ignoring a rather undignified rumble from his stomach, he gave some attention to the matter or dinner. He couldn't remember when he had last eaten, but it must have been before he had gone to visit Sarah in her bedroom.  
At the thought of Sarah, his stomach suddenly twisted. All his appetite was gone as he remembered how she had slapped him. How dared she! He unconsciously raised a hand to feel along his cheekbone where she had struck him. During the course of the day, a dark purple bruise had appeared there, and the entire side of his face was sore. It was a terrible blow to his pride and vexed him to no end. To think that a mere Aboveground child had been able to play with him and embarrass him like that.  
He sighed, and started walking in the direction of his own room. He should know better than to let that sort of thing happen by now. Hadn't he gone through this before? Gone through it with the same girl, no less? Mentally chastising himself for baring his soul twice to the same unfeeling wench, he furrowed his brow and devoted his few minutes before sleep to following her progress through the Bog of Eternal Stench. He would have to be more careful with his feelings from now on.  
Jareth seated himself in a chair by his window and watched in one of his crystals as Sarah searched with Arthur for a way across the Bog. There was no Ludo, this time, to call up stepping-stones from the earth, and the fox's small bridge had never been repaired. The two travelers were going to have their work cut out for them. The image in the crystal swirled and clouded over. Jareth swung his legs over the arm of the chair and encased the shining sphere in his hands, long fingers entwining over its surface so that only isolated light rays were let through. He played with the light for a minute, shifting his hands to see where he could make the rays fall. Concentrating hard, he summoned his magic and extended the light to reach the far corners of the Labyrinth. He couldn't see Sarah, but he could sense her, and he knew what she was feeling. She was fearful, worried, yet confident, and determined to win again.  
"Beware, Sarah," he said quietly. "You haven't begun to realize just what cards I am capable of hiding up my sleeve. You and I are going to play a game, together. And I think you will enjoy playing by my rules." He smiled ominously and dispensed of the crystal.  
Laughing to himself, he pulled himself out of the chair and walked to the window with his hands behind his back. The Underground sky was a beautiful mix of blues, purples and silver, and Jareth couldn't help but find it breathtaking, even after centuries of ruling there. Sarah had been right in her appraisal of the Labyrinth: it did keep changing. It was never the same for very long, and it made for an exciting life.  
An exciting life, Jareth thought. Heh. Really, now, that seems a bit like wishful thinking. I can't even successfully seduce a lonely teenager. Whatever happened to the Goblin King who first took the throne all those years ago? The dashing young chap who always had a girl hanging on each arm?   
He couldn't help but smile as he recalled his younger self. Well, younger in terms of mental age. He must have been…oh, about a hundred. He had stopped counting his age back at 548. It got to be depressing, trying to orchestrate birthday celebrations for one's quadricentennial, and so forth.  
But Sarah…Sarah was something different, wasn't she? Jareth thought, not without a certain regret, about the rather awkward setup he'd had to devise to get her to the Labyrinth in the first. He thought it had been very clever at first, to play off her love of fantasy stories. Helping King Arthur defeat the same Goblin King she herself had defeated only six months before was an offer she would be unable to refuse. She would come to his kingdom, where he held the ultimate power, and he would make her see his side of things. He loved her; he might as well admit it. Insanely, irrationally, and against his better judgment. Oh well.   
All's fair in love and war, I suppose.  
Jareth tore himself away from the window, stripping off his shirt as he crossed to his bed. He tossed it into a corner and sat down on the edge of the bed, then snuffed the candle on the bedside table before settling himself under the blankets. A thin stream of gray smoke rose from the extinguished candle as Jareth drifted off to sleep.  
  



	6. The Bog

Title: Ace of Spades, Chapter 8 (Part 6)

Author: Silverstar Wizard

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth, Jareth, Sarah, Arthur, the Bog, or the New York Yankees. If anyone wants to sell me any of those (with the possible exception of the Bog. Although I'm sure it has its uses…), please contact me as soon as possible.

Please! Read and Review! You've made it this far, don't give up now!

Author's Note: While I've got your attention, I'm going to plug an original story. Read DARK CYBERSPACE!!! Please!

This part starts to show where the plot might be going in the next few parts…so if you're at all interested, please stay around!

Eight

Sarah emerged at the bottom of the long slide that Jareth had provided as a way into the Bog, and immediately doubled over at the putrescent stink of the primeval marshland. Very little had changed. 

She could see a stone wall far away in the distance, slightly obscured by a yellow-green scummy mist that hung just above the tops of the stunted trees. All the rocks and plants were hung with great swaths of Spanish moss, the kind that looks like hanging dusty green spider webs. The dirt path was slightly sticky, covered with some sort of congealed substance that Sarah didn't feel like thinking about. Huge blue bugs flew past languidly, alighting every now and then on rocks or trees to emit small clouds of smelly purple gas.

And then, there was the bog itself. Huge, greenish brown, dotted here and there with bubbling stink-pods and oil spots, and reeking of a combination of animal wastes, industrial refuse, body odor, dried vomit, and that smell that garbage gets on a really hot day.

Sarah gagged and covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve. She was almost able to filter out the smog in the air when she was knocked down by Arthur's arrival at the bottom of the chute. 

For about half a second, Sarah thought that he didn't notice the smell. He started to stand and help her up, opening his mouth to say something. Sarah was astonished. For one half of a second.

"Gods help me!" he moaned, covering his mouth with one hand and supporting himself against a tree with the other. He heaved several times, clearly finding it difficult to keep from vomiting. Sarah quickly stood to support him as he gagged and choked, putting a hand on each of his shoulders and waiting patiently until he was well enough to continue. When he felt better, he looked over his shoulder at Sarah, smiling gratefully for the small service she had done him.

***

Arthur frowned at the clock that was positioned conspicuously in a niche in a slimy green boulder face. The clock, in contrast to its surroundings, was beautiful; it had iron hands in the shape of something that resembled, somehow, both a fleur de lis and a short sword. The lacquered parchment face was an antiqued, creamy yellow, and the mahogany of the body was decorated with intricate scrollwork. Arthur didn't know it, but Sarah would have recognized it as the same clock Jareth had shown her at the beginning of her first journey through the Labyrinth. Clocks were something Arthur was unfamiliar with, since they hadn't been invented until long after his lifetime, but he realized the significance of the rapidly advancing hands. The elegantly fashioned markers indicated that only six hours remained before…before what?

"Milady Sarah," Arthur asked, tapping her on the shoulder, "should we fail to defeat the King in thirteen hours, what shall become of me?" He was worried, and unsure. Sarah felt that she understood his position. For someone like Arthur, who was used to being in command, to giving orders and having them obeyed, to be wandering blindly with no sense of the final destination must be a terrifying experience. Since they had started traversing the Bog of Stench, he had talked less and less, and had become increasingly irritable. Sarah balked at the idea of having to tell him his potential fate. She personally had never faced the reality of possibly being turned into a two-foot-tall drooling cretin, but didn't envy anyone who had. She especially felt sorry for Arthur who, this time yesterday, had probably been comfortable in his castle, sitting at the round table with his knights, or fighting invaders on the frontiers of the Kingdom.

Steeling herself, she stopped and faced him. He must have sensed her own nervousness, because he fingered the embroidered edges of his sleeves and shifted his feet uncomfortably, tracing druidic patterns in the dirt. He knew that, whatever she was about to tell him, he probably wasn't going to like it.

"Well, I admit," she said, hesitating nervously between words, "that things have changed since the last time I was here." A flash of heat shot up her neck as she thought of just how much things seemed to have changed between herself and Jareth. Ignoring it as best she could, Sarah continued. "But when I came here to look for Toby, the stipulation was, that if I didn't make it to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth within thirteen hours, Toby would be turned into a goblin." 

Arthur paled visibly, and Sarah hastened to reassure him. "But wait! You're different," she said, reaching after Arthur when he scoffed and started to move away, "because…well, first of all, you're not a baby." He turned around and waited for her to finish, arms crossed and clearly not convinced of his own immunity to the rules of the Underground, which he was only beginning to understand. Sarah furrowed her brow, searching for another reason why he wouldn't be turned into a goblin.

"And, here's another reason," she said. "Usually, the person who did the wishing away would go through the Labyrinth, but instead, it's you. There, you're a special case! Right? I mean, if one rule doesn't apply, then -"

Arthur turned around and held out a hand to stop her, the other smoothing his hair back to expose his forehead, which was damp with sweat. "I have heard enough. Do not trouble yourself to comfort me, lady Sarah. I am resigned to my fate." Seeing her crestfallen expression, he at once softened and became his usual optimistic self. Turning her head with one finger under her chin, he directed her attention to the clock.

"But see, there are yet six hours remaining. We are not yet defeated. Do you not agree?" When she didn't answer right away, he added, smiling encouragingly, "Right?"

Sarah brightened. "Right!" 

"Then by all means," Arthur said brightly, proffering his bent arm to Sarah, "let us continue. To the castle!"

"The castle!" she echoed, hooking her arm through his. "I think that Jareth will not be able to stand up to two of us." She smiled as she realized that she was beginning to pick up his way of speaking, and the two of them set off together.

As they rounded a bend in the path, laughing and talking together, Jareth stepped from behind the clock the two had just passed.

"Damn!" he exclaimed. "Damn that girl! Damn him! Why has he not given up? Why is she still helping him?" _Why_, he thought, _are they becoming…friends?_


	7. Self-knowledge

Nine  
  
Jareth couldn't understand how his plans had backfired so severely. He retraced his though process, trying to understand what could have gone wrong. He would create a fantasy dimension, where a legendary King had been wished away to the Labyrinth. He would breathe life into the world, make it real for Sarah, so that she would come to the Underground. That part had worked: she loved fantasy, he had known that she would come. He would give her another chance to see the beauty and wonder of his kingdom, and he would give himself another chance to show her that he loved, needed her, and would do everything for her. If she would only consent to stay with him. He had tried to do that.  
And yet she still refused to acknowledge him. What was he doing wrong? He could only assume, from what he knew of Sarah, that if there was one thing she would want him to be, it was a character from a legend. A King out of myth. Able, he thought with a slight frown, to turn the world upside down. But he had tried to act that part for her before, but to no avail. What could he possibly do? He supposed he would simply have to resort to trial and error before he would be able to get through to her.   
And I would be anything for her, he thought.   
Jareth paced back and forth across the floor of his bedroom, his heeled boots clicking against the stone flags. He groaned suddenly, clasping his hands behind his neck, and called a goblin servant. He needed some sort of food to ponder this matter.  
The goblin entered, ridiculous in a red and purple tunic and patched leather breeches. He bowed deeply, his spear clattering against the floor as he dropped it. "Y-yes? Your Majesty?"  
"Bring me something to eat. Anything. And some wine."   
"Right away, your highness!" the goblin squeaked, terrified. It picked up its spear and scurried away to carry Jareth's orders out.   
Jareth sighed and slumped into a chair. Taking out a crystal, he transferred it from hand to hand, watching the light play off its surface. An image appeared inside the sphere, coalesced and focused to reveal Sarah and Arthur talking cheerily as they wound their way along a forest trail. A wave of inexplicable jealously surged through him, even though he could see nothing other than words going back and forth between them. But in his mind, he saw them exchanging glances, laughing at him between kisses. He frowned. So even his thoughts were betraying him now?   
He slammed his fist against the chair, sending up a small cloud of dust, which surprised him for a moment. Dust? In his room? Wasn't someone supposed to clean this room every day or so? By the time the goblin he had sent to get food returned, Jareth was in a foul mood, and the goblin received a kick for his trouble.  
Jareth set the tray down on his bed and inspected the food that the goblin had brought. Well, there was a goblet of wine. That was good; goblins couldn't do anything to wine. He picked up the goblet and sipped lazily as he lifted the silver dome covering the plate.   
Chicken. Small pieces of chicken. In his mind's eye, Jareth saw the chicken that the goblins had been cooking only hours before. He pictured it being thrown around the room and ripped into…he looked down at his plate. Very small pieces.   
His stomach gurgling unpleasantly, Jareth sighed and replaced the dome, all his appetite gone. Why, he thought, am I having such a hard time eating today? Every time I try to have dinner, I lose my appetite. "It's not fair!"  
Eyes widening in shock as he realized what he had just said, he clamped a hand over his mouth and screamed into his palm. This was all Sarah's fault. All of it, her fault. He would see her in the Bog for this. Relax, relax, he told himself frantically. Goblin Kings did not behave in such a frivolous manner. They did not. Jareth repeated this over and over until he had brought himself to the point where he could sit still in a chair and finish his wine.  
He threw a leg over the arm of the chair and reclined in the cushioned seat. Draining his wine, he tossed the jeweled goblet aside. It hit the floor on the other side of the room with a dull clink, and then silence descended. Jareth tilted his head back and rested it on the back of the chair. He watched with no real interest as a small insect trundled along the ceiling. Idly sending a burst of magic in its direction, he fried it to a crunchy crisp and smiled grimly as it fell towards the floor. He reached up and ran his fingers distractedly through his hair.  
"What to do, what to do," he thought aloud. He felt like he was walking in mental circles. He had to find out why Sarah continually rejected him.  
"What I need," he thought at last, "is someone who knows love. Someone who can decipher it whims and caprices. I wonder…who could I ask?" He ran through a list of all his goblins, none of which would have been able to answer his questions. He started pacing back and forth, bootless feet padding on the stone. He needed someone who could not only tell him exactly what in him disgusted Sarah, but what she wanted him to be.   
Gods, he needed an analyst.  
No! he thought frantically. No analysts! The last one had told him that he needed to get rid of all the goblins in order to feel completely at ease with himself and his power. Then he has said that Jareth was suffering from long-repressed childhood traumas, which was why he felt the urge to turn small children into short, fat, drooling goblins. Jareth had thought blackly that there really wasn't much difference, but wisely hadn't said anything.  
He could always, of course, go Aboveground. But that would mean leaving Sarah and Arthur alone, possibly for a period of time that would extend beyond their thirteen-hour limit. On the other hand, there was no way he would let Sarah escape him this time. Gods and Goblins, this was a dilemma. Perhaps he could call someone, and order them to find him a good adviser.  
He looked at the clock. Only five hours left. There just wasn't time. What to do, what to do?  



	8. The Ballroom Revisited

Ten  
  
Jareth was reclining on his bed, eyes shut tight, when he was summoned. A goblin burst into the room, huffing and puffing. He turned briefly to shut the door then skidded to a stop in the middle of the room and saluted. Jareth, who had awoken as soon as the door had opened, sat up, a look of deep concern on his pale face. He hesitated, and then levered himself off the bed to direct his attention to the goblin.  
  
"What is it? Is something wrong?" he pulled a chair up behind him and sat, hunching down over his knees so that his head was as near to the goblin as possibly. "Please tell me quickly." He bent his head and listened intently.  
  
"Beg pardon, yer majesty," said the goblin quickly, "but a neighboring king requires your immediate assistance with a very delicate problem." He delivered his message very directly, and with almost no stuttering or drooling. When he was finished, he stepped back humbly and stood at attention, waiting for Jareth's orders.  
  
"What sort of problem is this? Were you told?" The goblin fidgeted nervously with the edge of its tunic.  
  
"He said it was...well, very important, yer majesty. A...a...an affair, he said, of the heart." Jareth looked almost gleeful. His eyes opened wide and he jerked his head up, a small smile playing across his lips.  
  
"Ah," he sighed, "crossed in love. I know exactly how he feels." Jareth shook his head sympathetically. "Well, you can tell him that I'll do everything in my power to help him. I thank you for your time. What did you say your name was?" Jareth cocked his head to one side and waited expectantly.  
  
The goblin looked around and shuffled his feet, not used to such notice from his king. "Er, Bimm, yer majesty. 'Snot a very nice name, I'm afraid, but me mum gave it t' me."  
  
Jareth smiled. "Bimm is a very nice name." Bimm scratched his rear absently. A small shower of dust fell to the floor, catching the light. Jareth ignored it.   
  
"Please," he said, standing up, "take me to this lovesick king." He held the door for the frightened goblin as he hurried out, staring at the beaming Jareth with wide eyes.   
  
Bimm led Jareth down the hall, waiting while Jareth took a torch from the wall to light their way through the dark passageways. The two turned left at a corner, walked down another long hallway, ascended a flight of steps, traversed a courtyard, walked down a hall and out a door, across a bridge spanning the kitchen gardens, down yet another corridor, and finally turned right at a passageway that ended in a heavy oak door. Bimm leaned against it, rubbing the back of his neck with a green, grimy handkerchief.  
  
"Are you sure this is the way?" asked Jareth, placing his torch in a wall sconce. "We're in a completely different wing of the castle." He smoothed out his sleeves meticulously, and waited for an answer.  
  
"Well, yer majesty," said Bimm, "the king did tell me that he lived very far away. He pushed open the door that they had stopped in front of. "Just down there," he continued, pointing the way for Jareth, who peered intently around the door, "is another door. You go through it, and turns left. Go up the three stairs, and the king is there."  
  
Jareth looked into the room beyond the door. The floor resembled a checkerboard: meter-wide black and white squares stretched to all four walls. The room itself was entirely empty. He stepped in and shut the door behind him. It shut with a resounding "boom" that Jareth could feel in his chest as it echoed throughout the vast chamber. He had never seen this room before, which seemed to him to be rather a shame. It was beautiful, really. He looked around admiringly. The room stretched out in front of him for maybe a hundred yards, ending in another wall like the one he now stood in front of. The white walls extended upwards for an impossible distance before curving gracefully and almost imperceptibly into a vaulted ceiling. The high gothic windows featured fantastic stained-glass depictions of different areas of the Labyrinth. There was one window showing the view of the maze from the hill beyond the door, another showing a dark and foreboding oubliette, another showing the hedge maze, and another showing the Escher Room. Twenty different windows in all.  
  
Jareth walked slowly towards the door, feeling very small in the huge room, examining the windows as he passed them. He wished he had known of the room before; he thought of the visiting rulers he could have impressed by inviting them to a ball held in this room. It must have been constructed with the original castle, in his great-grandfather's time, and fallen into disuse under his father's rule. His mind filled with a vision of the room, crowded with masked and costumed dancers, swaying to ethereal music coming from a hidden source. He thought of another ball, quite like the one he was picturing. Quite unbidden, a vision of one dancer swayed into his mind, her eyes scanning the crowded room, searching for something...or someone. Searching for him.  
  
"Stop!" Jareth screamed, the sudden noise echoing in the room, bouncing off the walls and coming back to mock him.  
  
Stop, stop, stop....  
  
"Dammit, Sarah! Get out of my mind!"  
  
Mind, mind, mind....  
  
Jareth put his hands over his ears and ran the rest of the way to the door, slamming it behind him as he reached the other side. He leaned back against it and waited for his heartbeat to slow down. 


End file.
